


Stretched Too Far

by Meri



Category: Stargate Universe
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-18
Updated: 2009-12-18
Packaged: 2017-10-04 14:03:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meri/pseuds/Meri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Colonel Young has a few things to say to Dr. Rush.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stretched Too Far

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mgsmurf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mgsmurf/gifts).



> Many thanks to my beta Molly_o.

The mood of the ship was as dark as the low-level lighting in the corridors. Desperation permeated all the corners and lurked in the shadows. A few choice words and Rush had made it so much worse.

Young watched Rush on the monitor. The people working around him cold-shouldered him, their hurt, their outrage clear in every movement. And Young didn't blame them one little bit. His own anger was only barely under control.

How dare that bastard think he could manipulate the crew that way? Boost morale? Right. The man didn't give a damn about anything other than his own work. He'd made that clear over and over.

To come back from the scene with Telford and his wife to find that Rush had lied to everyone was the final straw in what had already been an awful day. Rush had just about destroyed morale with his self-serving lies. He needed to be set straight.

Young took a breath and fought back the urge to go in there and use his fists to teach Rush a lesson in lying that he wouldn't forget.

As commanding officer, it fell to him to let Rush know how unacceptable his behavior was. Rush needed to understand in no uncertain terms what his lies had done to the people on this ship. And Young wasn't sure Rush could even comprehend it.

Young pushed away from the console and stood with his fists clenched. He forced himself to relax. Even though it hadn't been _his_ fists that had done it, his fingers still held the phantom memory of the lesson he'd taught Telford. He flexed his hand.

Damn, violence was not the answer. He shouldn't have hit Telford. As satisfying as it was, he wasn't proud that he'd done it. And, no matter how much Rush might deserve it, Young wasn't going to physically take him to task for what he'd done. It probably wouldn't help anyway.

However, he was damned well going to get some answers from Rush. And this time, he wasn't going to let Rush evade him.

Young strode into the corridor.

"Colonel," Eli said as he passed, and then fell into step with him when he didn't stop.

"Not now, Eli." Young was not in the mood to deal with Eli right now. It was all he could do to keep his mind focused on what he wanted to say to Rush.

"Don't we need to --"

"I said not now," Young snapped again. Eli stopped walking and gave him a hurt look.

Another time, Young might have felt bad about treating him that way, but right now, he needed to speak to Rush and everything else was a distraction. He opened the door to the control room.

"Colonel?" Rush raised an eyebrow as Young came in.

"I want an explanation of what happened today." Young managed to keep his voice even. At least that was something.

"And what was that, specifically?" Rush asked, as if he had no idea.

Young counted to ten before he answered. "You lied to everyone, you self-serving bastard."

"As I said a few hours ago, it had nothing to do with being self-serving. And a great deal to do with morale. Which in case you haven't noticed is in the toilet." He seemed to think that made what he'd done all right.

God, the nerve of that man. Before Young could say anything, Rush went on.

"I was hoping for some help unlocking the secrets of the ship. No one is doing anything." Rush made it sound as if it were his burden alone.

"What are you talking about? Everyone is doing their part as best they can, given the circumstances."

Rush's eyes narrowed. "Oh, please. Surely you have noticed that all anyone wants to do is lie about and whine that their lot is so damned hard."

Christ, Rush lacked anything that remotely resembled empathy. Where was Daniel Jackson when they needed him? Or any scientist with a shred of compassion?

Young closed his eyes for a moment. "And of course, you don't think the situation we're in is difficult? That people don't have a right to be upset?"

"What I think doesn't matter, does it? You and I both know that it's what you do that counts. Or rather what you won't do." Rush's accusatory tone did nothing to calm Young's anger.

"Are we there again?" Jesus, he was tired of this argument. "If you want to try the chair, go ahead, but don't expect me to order someone else to do it."

"How badly do you want to go home? Because to get there, you are going to need to make some hard choices. And clearly, you don't want to."  
"You ass," Young said and took a breath, letting it out slowly. "I'm trying to do what needs to be done. And so is everyone else."

"If that were true, we'd be a lot further along than we are." Rush had a little smirk on his face, as if he'd won some kind of argument.

Young gritted his teeth. "I'm not going to sacrifice anyone on the off chance that it might help. What kind of man do you think I am?" Because even Rush could not think he'd do something like that.

Rush muttered something and sneered at him.

"What did you say?" Young demanded. He clenched his fists.

"Nothing. I said nothing."

Young rubbed the bridge of his nose. He could push it, but that never seemed to do much good where Rush was concerned. "I want to get us back to Earth. We need you for that. Don't _you_ want to go home?"

"Of course I do," Rush said, his voice rising defensively. "But we're not going to get there unless people do what I tell them to --"

"Who won't do what you've asked them to do? You are not in charge here." Why didn't Rush get that? He was not the one making the decisions. If he were, they'd all be dead by now. "I'm not going to let you endanger anyone's life."

"If I'm the one that's going to get you and everyone else home, then the least you could do is find people to help me, rather than hinder me." Rush's mouth thinned out. "And having Eli recheck everything I do isn't helping. It's a waste of time and resources. He should be helping me try to figure out the mastercode."

Well, he'd never thought that Rush was stupid. But it didn't change the fact that, "I don't trust you."

"Bully for you. I don't care what you think of me. I'm doing my best here --"

"Are you? I haven't seen much evidence of that."

Rush's jaw twitched. "You wouldn't know it if it bit you on the arse."

As much as he wanted to push a reaction out of Rush, he didn't want to alienate him completely. "You've given no one any reason to trust you. And if we can't trust you, you're useless to us."

Rush just looked at him. "What would you have me do?"

"What about some truthful answers?" Because that would go a long way on getting to know what Rush was actually up to. And right now, there was no way Young could trust him without some.

"Such as?"

"Such as, did you know we would survive the first time we flew through a sun? And did you sabotage Telford, or did you just make it more spectacular? And why did you really make up the Icarus planet? What are you planning?" Young was out of breath when he finished.

Rush froze. His eyes were wide with anger and his fists clenched. For one second, Young thought Rush might hit him. "Get out of here," Rush said, nearly without inflection.

Slowly, Young shook his head, his eyes focused on Rush. "Not on your life. I want answers. Hell, everyone on this ship wants answers."

"So why don't you let me do my job and find them?" Rush's tone was dismissive, as if Young were an irritant that he could be rid of.

"Because we can't trust you to give us a straight answer," Young said.

Was it possible that Rush was more than self-serving, that he was actively working against them? It finally occurred to Young that Rush could end up more of a liability than an aid. God, he hoped not, or he would be making those hard decisions, but not in the way Rush thought.

"Just go. I'll let you know if I find anything else." Rush pushed away from the console and turned his back on Young. His whole demeanor went from arrogant to hurt.

Young didn't buy the mood change. "So, you won't answer the questions."

Still radiating hurt offense, Rush turned abruptly to face Young and then pushed into his personal space.

"You want an answer? Fine, then. Yes, I knew that there was maybe a fifty percent likelihood that the ship would survive going through the star. I wasn't completely sure by any means, but it made sense. Is that what you wanted to hear?" Rush pushed him. Not hard enough to make him fall, but Young took a step back.

And Rush followed him, moving forward a step. "Or that Telford and his people would have blown-up the ship. Was I one hundred percent certain of that? No. I was not. Did I think it at least fifty percent likely? Yes. And frankly, I didn't want to find out. I don't think you did either, colonel."

Fifty percent wasn't good enough when you were playing against the lives of everyone on the ship. "Why not say something --"

"I did. Telford is too busy trying to discredit you to listen to anyone else." Rush gave him a nasty little smile. "What does he have against you? What did you do to him?"

It was more about what Telford had done to Young. It was rare anyone took such a rapid dislike to him as Telford had done. Or maybe he just wanted Young's wife. "I have no idea what his problem is."

"Can't you report him to O'Neill or something?"

"I hope that's taken care of." His report had been concise and to the point. Telford would still be a pain in the ass, but hopefully he was not going to be able to interfere as much as he had before.

Rush snorted. "I'm sure. May I go now?"

"You didn't answer the last question."

"Which one was that?" Rush smiled again.

"The one where you explain why you lied to the crew."

"I already answered that one."

"It wasn't a satisfactory answer."

"Too bad. It's the only one I have." Rush didn't wait for Young to answer, he turned and stalked out of the control room.

Young sighed. "Well, that went well, didn't it?"

They would go on -- and he would keep a close eye on Rush. If Rush did anything else, anything at all, Young would deal with it. And yes, where the safety of his people was concerned, he was ready to make the tough decisions.

\--finis


End file.
